Chronicles is a repository of articles, client projects, creative musings and products.

 

All content is copyrighted by MKN Design. Reproduction without express written consent is prohibited. To license a specific illustration or design, please contact me via email.

Googly Eyed Philosophers

Creative Musing + Product
December 2024

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Googly Eyed Philosophers
Some design fun with old lithographs, goggly eyes, and 3 philosophers.


Quotes from Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates.
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle
“When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.” – Plato
“All I Know Is That I Know Nothing.” – Socrates

  • Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates graphic tees are available for purchase on Cotton Bureau. Check out more graphic tees on my Cotton Bureau profile page.

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    Note:     All Cotton Bureau apparel comes in a variety of clothing types, styles, fits, sizes, materials, and colors.

Holmes Sardines

Creative Musing
November 2024

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Holmes Sardines
This internal project reflects my appreciation for vintage packaging and its rich history. I’m inspired by the hand craftsmanship of early packaging design, which beautifully captures the essence of its era. Through recreation, my aim is to preserve and honor its historical significance.

Sardine fisheries and their canning factories were prominent along the U.S. East and West Coasts from the 1870s until their decline in the mid-20th century, serving as vital industries for coastal communities. These operations not only supported local economies but also played a significant role in shaping the cultural and industrial landscape of the time. The Stinson Sardine Cannery in Prospect Harbor, Maine, was the last operating sardine cannery in the United States, closing its doors in April 2010, marking the end of an era for a once-thriving industry.

KitchenAid Branded Environment

▲ Branded environment concept based on KitchenAid’s updated brand.

 

▼ Final design integrated into branded environment

Client Project
October 2024

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KitchenAid Branded Environment
For the second consecutive year, I partnered with Whirlpool Corporation to assist in the development of their annual Board of Directors meeting showcasing their latest and most innovative products to investors. The 2023 event spotlighted KitchenAid, and I was tasked with translating their updated brand into environmental graphics that conveyed this new direction. The visualization were carefully crafted to reflect the brand's new direction, integrating the essence of family and innovation into every element of the showroom experience.

In close collaboration with KitchenAid’s product and CMF team, I developed five distinct narratives to bring the “Do It With Me” ethos to life. Each story focused on households preparing meals in their kitchens, showcasing KitchenAid countertop appliances, cookware, and utensils in action. These individual stories were then seamlessly integrated into a larger, cohesive narrative, illustrating how KitchenAid plays a central role in bringing people together in the kitchen, helping families prepare food and create meaningful experiences.

The final installation was a seamless blend of clean, minimalist line illustrations paired with physical KitchenAid products, effectively demonstrating how the brand serves as an ‘aid’ in everyday cooking routines. The result was a *visually captivating* environment that embodied KitchenAid’s brand principles and brought their message to life.

  • + Branded Environment Design

  • + Creative Direction
    + Research
    + Concept Development 
    + Narrative Storytelling
    + Sketching and Ideation
    + Graphic Design
    + Illustration
    + Print Management

  • This project was a collaborative effort, with the KitchenAid product and CMF teams.

    Concept illustrations provided by Jody Williams.

Tulip Festival

Creative Musing
October 2024

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Tulip Festival
I submitted these minimalist tulip illustrations to the Tulip Time poster competition, but they didn’t place. So, I repurposed them into mockups for the Tulip Festival at Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Netherlands.

Artwork Statement: Inspired by the tulip’s form, this series of minimalistic illustrations captures its beauty through three life stages: Emerge, Unveil, and Reveal. Each phase captures the tulip’s transformation using the simplicity of negative space to frame its contours. The reduction of detail allows the viewer to focus on the essence of the tulip’s appearance, revealing how it unfolds over time. Through this work, I seek to emphasize the tulip’s beauty and timeless form. The three posters can be evaluated as a series or individually considered.

 

Rethinking Math Workbooks

Article + Creative Musing
January 2016

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Rethinking Math Workbooks
During my childhood, I despised math and often wondered if it was due to how it was taught and presented. Perhaps it was, perhaps not. Even now, I feel my kids math workbooks are unapproachable. So, I thought create a cover series for simple math workbooks – taking my youngest sons math workbook, I stripped it down to its bare essentials, and gave it a complete rebranding. The typeface I used for this design is DIN Condensed Variable, designed by Isabella Chaeva and Tagir Safayev from Paratype.

 

Midwest UX Conference Design

Client Project
October 2013

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Midwest UX Conference Design
Managed a team to orchestrate the planning, development, and design of the Midwest UX Conference. This three-day event took place in Grand Rapids and drew more than 500 participants who engaged in workshops, talks, and keynotes. The overarching theme of “Place” served as the foundation for the event’s visual identity. 

We meticulously crafted and refined key visuals, which were then translated into a range of assets, including badges, wayfinding elements, videos, websites, t-shirts, service design, social media content, and posters. The resulting assets harmoniously conveyed a unified design language, enriching the experience for both attendees and participants of the conference.

  • + Branded Conference Environment Design

  • + Creative Direction
    + Research
    + Creative Strategy
    + Concept Development
    + Design Ideation
    + Environmental Graphic Design
    + Project Management

Herman Miller Planning Guides

▲ Isometric Illustrations
A selected few of the 275+ isometric illustrations created for the Locale Planning Guide. Click images enlarge.


◀ Locale Planning Guide
Several layouts from the Locale product planning guide.

Client Project
September 2013

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Herman Miller Planning Guides
Over two years, I designed a flexible framework for the Herman Miller’s product planning guides. The new designed framework revitalized their existing planning guides, enhanced search functionality, and introduced an intuitive layout. Thorough research, user experience considerations, creative exploration, and the synthesis of input from interior designers, customer care, and Herman Miller guided the transformation. The resulting implementation was user-friendly, easily navigable, expandable, and accessible to users across electronic devices, plus a function to download and print PDFs.

  • + System Design Layout
    + Isometric Illustrations

  • + Art Direction
    + Creative Strategy
    + Concept Development
    + Design and Ideation
    + Graphic Design
    + Product Research
    + Illustration
    + Project Management

Sustainable Research Group

Client Project
January 2012

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Sustainable Research Group
Following a decade of expansion, SRG’s logo no longer aligned with the organization’s aspirations. Collaborating closely with the leadership I gathered key insights informing what the brand could be. Based on these insights, a fresh trajectory emerged—one aimed at broadening expertise, enlarging the customer base, and refining market focus. The bold new approach reflects an innovative impression of sustainability and boasts confidence, strength, and leadership. The rebrand extended to stationery brand standard guidelines.

  • + Brand Identity

  • + Creative Direction
    + Research
    + Concept Development
    + Design and Ideation
    + Illustration
    + Graphic Design
    + Print Management

Brand Identity & Design System Collateral

Client Project (via Designvox)
2006 to 2009

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Brand Identity & Design System Collateral
Following a series of internal shifts, Turnstone found their brand outdated and disconnected from their customer base. A relevant change was needed to resonate with the emerging demands of smaller businesses and startups. Equally important was to show that their products could grow with them and still have the quality and longevity as other furniture brands in the industry. I was a member of the design team responsible for creating a revitalized brand and integrating the new brand across various communication channels, including advertising, product catalogs, brochures, and website improvements.

  • + Brand Identity and Design Materials

  • + Research
    + Concept Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Brand Development
    + Packaging Design
    + Catalog Cover Design and Layout
    + Design and Ideation
    + Illustration

  • This brand project and design system collateral was completed while employed at Designvox.